Episode Transcript

Guest: Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba, Superintendent, Los Nietos School District
Host: Michael Vilardo, Co-founder & CEO of Subject

Michael Vilardo (00:11-00:46):
We are so excited to have another episode of On the Subject. I’m your host, Michael Vilardo, co -founder and CEO of Subject, Subject.com. You know where to find us, and we’re here to highlight the most innovative educators across the country. We are in the heart of California, at the Association of California Superintendents and Administrators in Monterey, California. Beautiful place. And we congregate every January to highlight innovative educators and how we can better educate our state.
We have Dr. R. Ramiro, who’s also from L.A. Lifelong Angeleno, and he is a superintendent at Los Nietos. Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you?

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (00:46-00:49):
My pleasure having a wonderful time here in Monterey, California.

Michael Vilardo (00:49-00:55):
Absolutely, and so we always love to start with the why education? Why did you dedicate your life to helping kids?

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (00:55-01:17):
I see education as more of a vocation calling. Because I had some really awesome teachers in mind that inspired me, and then some not so great teachers that also inspired me. I decided education was a way to help children, families improve their own lives and make this community and world a better place by empowering them.

Michael Vilardo (01:17-01:50):
I love that and I always say, like, teachers and heroes are the teachers, and coaches are the heroes of society. They’re helping young people. And I like how you touched on, you know, even some of the negative experiences you may have had impact you. I think about that a lot myself.
Some of the teachers and coaches I didn’t get along with, I said I’d love to get in their shoes, to be able to help more young people. You know what’s it like? Because you had mentioned off camera that you were at LAUSD and now you’re at Los Nietos. How has it been able to, you know, impact so many students over the course of a year? And thank you so much for your service.
You impacted thousands of people, who impact hundreds of thousands, if not millions. That’s a butterfly effect of education.

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (01:51-02:35):
It is, I refer to it as that ripple of hope, like a little stone into the water, and it radiates out to the community. It’s been an amazing experience, for sure. Like you said, I was in Los Angeles Unified for close to 18 years, I was a student, a teacher’s assistant, teacher, dean, administrator all the way.
And I got to work with some of my teachers, who were my teachers when I was a student, and then became their administrator and then supervised them. So it was quite the experience to work side by side with some of my former teachers. Being in a large district like Los Angeles Unified was an amazing experience because we impacted so many kids. But now I have the honor of serving as a superintendent for Los Nietos School District, one of the oldest in California since 1861.

Michael Vilardo (02:35-02:37):
1861 You’re here to hear first.

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (02:37-02:52):
Yes, and because we’re small, my students know my name, and I know them by name. My families can call me. I’m a crazy superintendent. That gives every single parent and employee my personal cell number, they can call or text me anytime.

Michael Vilardo (02:53-03:09):
That’s beautiful, I mean, you’re even moving me. And you know, this is probably our 20th or 30th podcast episode by now. But to hear that actual personal care, and it’s all about texting. Now, as you know, we’re on a podcast. The content, you know, so many emails get ignored. How many cold emails do you get a day? Actually? curious?

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (03:09-03:10):
Hundreds.

Michael Vilardo (03:10-03:39):
Yeah, hundreds. I always tell our team, like, they’re superintendents, you got to get their cell phone because it’s a cell phone game now. And so the fact that you’re willing to text or call your families and your students, that means the world to them.
And what do you think for you? You know, you’re in TK -8 right now and then LUSD, obviously, it’s, you know, 600 ,000 students. What are some of the new trends you’re seeing in education for these? Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and now Gen Beta is born this year.
What’s different about these students versus millennials?

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (03:39-04:24):
I think what’s different is that the new generations are focused on different skill sets. It’s become that pendulum, right? Going back to being able to interact with others, being able to problem solve, being able to work collaborative, being resourceful. Encyclopedias are gone, AI is in, right? So teaching kids what resources are available so that you’re more efficient with your time. But also being able to show empathy, being able to embrace diversity because the world is diverse. It’s a global economy and has been for a long time.
So we have to give students those opportunities to go outside of them, their own families or communities, to the entire world. So those are some of the differences we’re experiencing.

Michael Vilardo (04:24-04:59):
Yeah, I know I love what you just mentioned about. The AI is in PC. I talk about a lot with our team and just young people in general that the creative arts are coming back. Yes, how can you be?
More design centric marketing ability to communicate. We’ve really tried to lean in and say, let’s do more. Video and audio submissions. Show your mastery of thought, show the way that you’re thinking about things. Because now AI can spit out just about any type of product, which is great, let’s use to our advantage. But you need to show that you have opinions and can communicate your ideas.
When you grew up in L.A. what district did you grow up in?

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (04:59-05:13):
In East L.A. Garfield High School, the whole stand and deliver story. Oscar Deloitte. I was a student and spent a lot of my career all the way through the career as a student, a teacher’s assistant teacher and administrator at Garfield High in East L.A.

Michael Vilardo (05:13-05:15):
I love that. Are you a Dodgers fan?

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (05:15-05:18):
I’m a Dodgers fan for sure. Go Dodgers.

Michael Vilardo (05:18-05:41):
Yeah, no. It’s a great place to grow up in L.A. to your point earlier about diversity, It’s so beautiful because in L.A. you walk down the street and you see people of all different types. And you really understand the power of being able to harness different cultures when you aren’t in those communities. Sometimes you’re a little bit more confused and don’t understand how powerful it is to have different perspectives. How have you been able to harness that in your district and be able to elevate those diverse voices?

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (05:41-07:02):
One way is we say voice is important, and we’re teaching kids to become influencers, to show empathy. We as a school district, I’m so proud of my board, and school district chose to make a student a board member at the middle school level. They sit on the Dais, they’re part of the decision making, they get to do their reports.
So when we say student voice matters, we really mean it. Another way is, the importance of cultural diversity can manifest in different ways through food, so our kitchens do scratch kitchen, our students eat chilaquiles, busas, and it’s really culturally relevant.
So when kids get in line, they’re like, excited to eat. And our employees get excited to bring their own experience, culture through a meal to help make sure kids are fed well. To succeed academically, so it’s all culturally relevant. We are really focused on wellness. That’s a new push for new generations.
So we have walking clubs in the morning where mom dad can walk with kids and other employees all together as a family to promote wellness and healthy. Test scores do not define our children. There are other ways that they can manifest how brilliant they are, and one of them is through music. We have a keyboard lab where kids are like composing and making these beats.

Michael Vilardo (07:02-07:07):
I love it. You’re leaning in all of the future. You got the nice EDM DJ at your campus.

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (07:07-07:28):
Oh, yes, we do. We have a cybersecurity program where our kids are working with an engineer from Boeing. our kids get to identify cyber threats, know how to problem solve them, go to the FBI building. A very young age, they’re prepared for, not only high school, college and beyond, so we’re really proud of what we’re doing at Los Llanos School District.
It’s an amazing place to be.

Michael Vilardo (07:29-08:09):
I’m so impressed by what you’re doing and the way that you’re helping students be more well -rounded is incredible. You mentioned it well, standardized test doesn’t define a student. The people that I’ve seen have a lot of success in the working world. It usually comes down to grit and are you willing to put the work in?
And music, sports, those are such great avenues to teach that grit, not just failing a student and making them feel bad about themselves. Have them be able to define themselves by how they get back up and move through those gritty experiences. And so we’re really excited about what you’re doing here and so honored about what you’ve been able to accomplish. What is one way that best end this podcast?
By thinking of former student or teacher that you’ve interacted with and giving them a shout out.

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (08:10-08:32):
Wow, I think that quote about people don’t always remember what you said or what they taught you, but they do remember how you made them feel.
Teachers made me feel good about myself, who I was, that lifted me up and inspired me to be that teacher, so I’m very thankful to that teacher. Mr. Lopez, he’s retired now.

Michael Vilardo (08:32-09:06):
Mr. Lopez, we are so thankful for you, how you impacted this incredible educator. Let’s really have that gratitude together. I’m so appreciative of you being able to share your story. I can’t wait for more people to hear and be inspired by what you’ve been able to accomplish in your career.
And if there’s ever anything subject to help you, we’re here for you. But this is another incredible episode of On the Subject. We can’t wait to release this. Remember, click Subscribe like down below. We’re really trying to get our YouTube subscriptions and Spotify followers up.
And thank you so much for all you do for students. We are so indebted to you and hope you have a great rest of your time in Monterey.

Dr. Ramiro Rubalcaba (09:06-09:07):
Thank you likewise, likewise.